Deflocculent for clays



Patented Dec. 28, 1943 ICE DEFLOCCULENT FOR CLAYS Flemmon P. Hall, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Onondaga Pottery Company, Syracuse, N. -Y., a corporation of New York N Drawing. Application October 29, 1941, Serial No. 417,009

' Claims.

My present invention relates to a novel method of defiocculating clays and a novel deflocculant for use particularly in the manufacture of ceramic articles by casting ceramic body slip in plaster of Paris moulds. As is well known to those skilled in the'art, certain clays, particularly those of the type known as hard Georgia clays have high gel 'forming properties which have prevented them from being used to a considerable egitent in clay slips for use in casting ceramic articles such as table ware and sanitary porcelain, since it has notbeen possible to deflocculate such clays successfully by means of the ordinary alkaline deflocculantssuch as sodium carbonate, so-

dium silicate, sodium tannate, etc. Therefore,

imported clays and particularly English clays have been used although the hard Georgia clays have qualities which make them highly desirable.

I believe that the presence of unattached ions such as calcium ions, magnesium ions, and sulphate ions in clays of the type of the hard Georgia clays which are not satisfactory for use in the casting process is in part, if not chiefly or entirely, responsible for the resistance of these days to the action of the common deflocculants. This has been proved by washing repeatedly with distilled water such clay as marketed to remove any unattached ions, after which treatment these clays respond satisfactorily to the action of defiocculants, but when ions (calcium, magnesium orsulphate) are again added the response to the deflocculants diminishes. However, purification of such clays by washing with distilled water is not commercially possible because of the cost of the large quantities of distilled water required and the long time required for settling. I have also attempted to render clays suitable for easting by converting the interfering ions into insoluble salts by adding barium carbonate to the casting slip. In this case the barium converts the sulphate ions into insoluble barium sulphate while the carbonate takes care of the calcium and magnesium ions. Attempts to produce the same effect by the use of sodium, potassium or ammonium carbonate or mixtures of them have not proved successful. But while the treatment with barium carbonate described makes it possible to defiocculate the casting clays having high gel formin properties such as the hard Georgia clays with the common deflocculants, I find that the'specific gravity of the slip is so low that the cast sticks to the mould and cracks on drying.

My present invention, therefore, is based on the discovery that if the hard Georgia clays and like clays having high gel forming properties are treated with suitable amounts of common deflocculants such as sodium silicate, or sodium tannate in the presence of barium carbonate and s0- dium-hexa-metaphosphate (NaPOa) e, a casting slip can be produced with a specific gravity as high as 1.86 and a viscosity as low as 200 seconds. (In speaking of viscosity I refer to the time of flow of 250 c. c. through a standard efllux viscosimeter.) I have successfully cast from such slips a large number of items both by the solid and the pour process.

My present invention makes it possible to use for certain purposes in ceramics, the hard' I have found that satisfactory results cannot,

be obtained by the use of either barium .carbonate or sodium metaphosphate without the other, because as pointed out above if too much barium carbonate is used the specific gravity is too low while if too much sodium metaphosphate is used the slip becomes stringy and sticks to the mould. To obtain the best results it seems to be desirable to use some of the common defiocculants in combination with no more than enough, barium car-' bonate to produce the specific gravity required and not enough sodium metaphosphate to render the slip stringy. Calcium, magnesium and sulphate ions appear to enhance the tendency to gel forming. Apparently, the barium carbonate replaces the gel-inducing soluble lime and magnesium with non-gel inducing barium compound, while the sodium metaphosphate acts as a bnifer of gel necessary to provide for shrinkage which frees the cast from the mould and thus prevents sticking of the cast to the mould. The use of the barium carbonate takes care of the calcium, magnesium and sulphate ions so that it is possible to use very small amounts of sodium metaphosphate, large amounts of which cause stringiness. The sodium hexametaphosphate employed has the formula '(NaPOsH and is obtainable under the trade name Calgon.

The sodium silicate N-brand referred to in the examples is a water glass having the composition NaaO 9.2, $103 29.3 and water 61.5.

My invention will be more fully understood from the following examples:

Example I Per cent Victoria ball clay 15 Hard Georgia kaolin 15 North Carolina clay 11 1 Tennessee ball clay 9 Potter's flint 35 Oxford feldspar 14 To a mixture of 15,000 grams of the above and While I have described herein the use of barium 4,900 grams of tap water there was added carbonate in combinationwith sodium-metaphos- Per cent phaiget, iii; isdpostsfib'lf1 that cgmparallole tlesll'lzs may u o be a ne W1 e use 0 equiva en su s ances Sodium Smcate '7" 5 which respectively dispose of the interfering ions Sodium tannate (mixture of 50% tannic t 1 t i u f 1 f acid and 50% sodium carbonate) 0.02 and preven e e e ge Barium carbonate 0 4 tion. Strontium carbonate may possibly be the Sodium-meta hos hte ciofi equivalent of barium carbonate but, so far I p p have been unable to discover any substance which The percentages of the deflocculants added, 1. e., will take the place of sodium-metaphosphate. sodium silicate, sodium tannate, barium carbon- I lai ate and Calgon, were calculated on the solid 1, The method of deflocculating clay slips content of the body which in the above examp which includes adding barium carbonate and sowas 15,000 grams. dium metaphosphate, the two together not being Th above mixture produced a slip having a in excess of 0.5% of the solids in the slip. specific gravity of 1.86 and a viscosity of 200 sec- 2. The method of defiocculating clay slips cific gravity which was varied as follows by addiends at 81 F. This slip was used successfully to which includes adding barium carbonate and socast a nu of large P S of which dium metaphosphate in the proportion of from we as s lid and some y the pour process-1 0.1% to 0.6% of the carbonate and from 0.01% I Example H 2o to0.10% of the metaphosphate.

. Per cent 3. The method of deflocculating clay slips Hard Georgia kaolin 15 4 which includes adding barium carbonate and so- Florida kaolin a dium metaphosphate, the amount oi! the carbon- Kentucky ball clay 01d Mine 6 .ate being substantially ten times that of the North Carolina china clay 17 metaphosphate, and the two together not being O fo d f ld 19 in excess of 0.5% of the solids in the slip. Potters flint 35 4. The method of deflocculating clay slips whiting i which includes adding-together with common defiocculants barium carbonate and sodium meta- .To amixture of 15,000 grams of the above and phosphate the amount 1 the carbonate being ,9 grams f tap water there was added substantially ten times that of the metaphos- Pe nt phate, and the two together not being in excess of Sodium silicate (N ..bran d) 0.1 0.5% of the solids in the slip.

Sodium tannate 0.04 5. The deflocculant for clay slip including clays Barium carbonate 0,4 having high gel forming properties which com- Sodium-metaphosphateCalgon 0.035 prises barium carbonate and sodium metaphosphate in the proportions of about ten parts of The above mixture produced aslip having specarbonate to one t of taphosphate.

6. The deflocculant for clay slip including clays. ions of 40 having high gel forming properties which com- 1.860 230 second how at 79 F. prises barium carbonate and sodium metaphos- 1.850 190 second flow at 79 F. phate in the proportions of about ten parts of 1.840,-. "160 second flow at 79 F. carbonate to one part of metaphosphate and the This slip was used uccessfully for casting large tWO together not in excess Of of the solids pieces. m the It will thus be seen that the combination of The method of deflocculating olay slips conbarium carbonate and sodium-metaphosphate taming ys hav hi h e f g p p r s when used with ordinary deflocculants produced which consists in adding Common flo eu e ts slips from diffieult casting clays which had high and in addition thereto barium carbonate and sospecific gravity an 1 so dium metaphosphate the amount of the carbon- I find th t th proportion of barium carbonate. ate being substantially ten times that of the should be between 0.1% and 0.6% and that 0.4% metaphosphate, end t w t r n t bei g in is the preferred amount, the percentage being EXCESS 0f 0f the Solids in e S p. based on the total solid content of the slip, For The improved s g S p including clay the sodium-metaphosphate th range appears to having high gel forming properties, together with be from 0.01% to 0.1% and the preferred am t barium carbonate and sodium metaphosphate,

about 0.04%. Too large a proportio of barium the two together not being in excess of 0.5% of r te produces slips having too low specific the solids in the 9- gravity and hence casts which tend to stick to The improved casting ip a e with c ays the mould and crack o d i wh t large having high gel forming properties and containproportions of sodium-metaphosphate have the ing barium carbonate and sodium metaphosphate effect of producing over-defiocculati or in addition to common defiocculants, the two tostringy slips which stick to moulds and do, t gether not being in excess of 0.5% of the solids release in reasonable time. It is,'therefore, betin the Slipter to use the common defiocculants as far as pos- The improved method of deflocculeting sible, and use onl e h sodium metaDhosclay slips containing clays having high gel formphate to complete the deflocculation. Only when mg properties due to the Presence of calcium both the ingredients are used together in about magnesium Sulphate ions which includes the proportions specified are thoroughly satlsfacposing of the said ions by the addition of barium tory results obtained. It will also be understood 7 carbonate? While preventing o p e elimination that the proportions must be varied somewhat ac of E o ng properties by the addition f S0- cording to the particular mixture or clay in the diu metaphosphate. the b r u su phate and slip. The amount. of barium carbonate is roughthe sodium metaphosphate together not being in 1y ten times the amount of the sodium-metaexcess of 0.5% of the solidsin the slip.

phosphate used. 15 FLEMMON P. HALL. 

